As the viewer regards two
separate paintings by 16th century Dutch painter Pieter Aertsen, titled The Vegetable Seller (1576) and A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms (1551) respectively, each cut to a different fragment of the paintings» surfaces raises questions: what do the artworks depict; what is placed
in their
foregrounds; what is relegated to the background; and, ultimately, what meanings can be excavated from the artworks» layers and represented
objects?